Authors
James Roy -
The Gimlet Eye
James Roy was born in country NSW in 1968, and spent
much of his childhood living on mission compounds
in Papua new Guinea and Fiji, where he played by day
and read books by night. Then one day, tired of reading
books by dead people, he decided to write his own.
Since his first book came out in 1996, James has
written seventeen books, including the CBCA Honour
Books Captain Mack and Billy Mack’s
War, the hilarious Problem Child, the
informative non-fiction book The ‘S’ Word -
a boys’ guide to sex, puberty and growing up,
and the NSW Premier’s Award winner, Town.
When
he’s not travelling
all over the place talking at schools and festivals
about being a writer, James lives in a creaky old
house in the Blue Mountains with his family. He
likes bushwalking, sport and music, and dislikes
olives and people who push in. He would like to
be sponsored by Taylor Guitars.
Alyssa Brugman -
The Equen
Queen
Alyssa Brugman’s books have been short-listed for numerous
literature and children’s choice awards
in Australia and overseas, and have been translated
into seven languages. A new novel, Solo, was released mid 2007. A fifth instalment
in the Shelby pony series will be released in 2008. The Equen
Queen is her first venture into fantasy writing.
Alyssa lives
in the Hunter Valley with her partner and son and
their horses, and is a full time writer. You can
find more information at www.alyssabrugman.com.au
Justin D’Ath -
The Skyflower
Justin D’Ath
was one of 12 children He was born in New Zealand
but has lived in Australia since 1971. He has
written 20 books for children and young adults.
His YA novel, Hunters
and Warriors, was both Highly Commended
in the 2002 Victorian Premiers Awards and a
2002 CBC Notable Book, and his most recent novel
for younger children, Astrid Spark, fixologist, has
been shortlisted in the 2003 Aurealis Awards.
Other titles include Crocodile Attack, Bushfire
Rescue, Shark Bait and Why did the
Chykkan cross the Galaxy, as well as several
books in the popular Aussie
Bites and Aussie
Nibbles series. His first fantasy for young
adults, Shaedow Master, was one of
‘Magpies’ magazine’s Top Picks of 2003 and was
a CBC Notable Book in 2004. Crocodile Attack is
a CBC Notable Book 2006.
Prior to writing for children, Justin was the
author of one adults’ novel, The Initiate,
winner of three literary awards, and many adult
short stories published in literary and commercial
magazines both here and overseas. His stories
have been published in 18 countries and have
won 54 literary prizes, including the University
of Canberra’s National Short Story Award in
1995 and the NT University’s Arafura Award in
both 1989 and 1990.
For
12 years Justin taught in, and co-ordinated,
the Professional Writing and Editing program
at Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE, but now
spends all his time writing, visiting schools
and libraries, speaking at festivals and running
writing workshops. |
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Anna Ciddor -
The Prisoner of Quentaris
Anna Ciddor lives in Melbourne,
Australia, but she has always been fascinated by
the question, ‘What
if I lived in another time or place?’ She changed
career from maths teacher to author so she'd have
the excuse to spend lots of time doing research. She
has written and illustrated over fifty books, including
the highly popular and exciting Viking Magic trilogy, Runestone, Wolfspell and Stormriders.
The Viking Magic books have been shortlisted for many
awards and Runestone was selected as a Notable
Book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia in
2003. Prisoner of Quentaris is Anna’s first
venture into the realm of pure fantasy.
You can find out more about Anna Ciddor and her Viking
Magic books at www.viking-magic.com |
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Sherryl Clark
- Pirates of Quentaris
Sherryl Clark has been
writing stories and poems for more than twenty years.
Her first children’s book, The
Too-Tight Tutu was
a best-selling Aussie Bite. Her other titles include more
Aussie Bites, Nibbles and Chomps such as The
Littlest Pirate, Boots and All and Batter Up. She has also written
the novels Up a Tree and Flipside for older readers. Her
verse novel, Farm Kid, won the 2005 NSW Premier’s
Patricia Wrightson prize for children’s literature.
Her most recent book, The Black
Dress, is a fictional
account of the childhood of Mary MacKillop in the Australia
of the 1840s-1860s. |
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Pamela Freeman
- The Murderers’ Apprentice
Pamela Freeman’s books have
been short listed for the State Literary Awards, the Children's
Book Council Book of the Year Awards, the Koala Awards and
the Wilderness Society Environment Awards.
She is best known for her series of fantasy novels, The
Floramonde Books (The Willow Tree's Daughter, Windrider and
The Centre of Magic), and for an associated junior novel,
Victor's Quest, as well as for Pole to Pole,
a non-fiction book about Arctic and Antarctic animals.
Her most recent book, The Black Dress, is a fictional account
of the childhood of Mary MacKillop in the Australia of the 1840s-1860s.
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Karen Brooks
- Rifts Through Quentaris
Karen Brooks's first novel,
a young adult fantasy, It’s Time, Cassandra
Klein, was published to rave reviews by Lothian in July 2001.
Her second, The
Gaze of the Gorgon was released August 2002, followed
by The
Book of Night in 2003, and The Kurs
of Atlantis in 2004. Rifts Through
Quentaris is her fifth novel.
Karen currently lectures at the University of the Sunshine Coast
in the areas of youth, sexuality, and popular culture (film,
television, radio, music, literature, magazines).
Website: www.karenrbrooks.com
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Gary Crew
- The Plague of Quentaris
Gary Crew as been awarded the
Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the year
four times: twice for Book of the Year for Young Adult Older
Readers (Strange Objects in 1991 and Angel’s
Gate in 1993)
and twice for Picture Book of the Year with First
Light in 1993
(illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe) and The
Watertower (illustrated
by Steven Woolman) in 1994. Gary’s illustrated book, Memorial
(with Shaun Tan) was awarded the Children’s Book Council
of Australia Honour Book in 2000 and short listed for the Queensland
Premier’s Awards. He has also won the Wilderness Society
Award, the Whitley Award and the Aurealis Award for Speculative
Fiction.
In the USA he has been twice short listed for the Mystery Writers
of America Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Fiction Award for Youth and
the Hungry Minds Review American Children’s Book of distinction.
In Europe he has twice been and twice the prestigious White
Raven Award for his illustrated books. Among his many Australian
awards is the Ned Kelly Prize for Crime Fiction, the New South
Wales Premier’s Award and the Victorian Premier’s
Award. He has been short listed for both the Queensland Premier’s
and the Western Australian Premier’s awards for Fiction. |
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John Heffernan
- The Mind Master
I spent my youth surfing and
getting into trouble at school. As a young man I spent my time
surfing and having trouble getting through university. I now
have a wife and two grownup daughters who give me no end of
trouble and delight. I run a sheep and cattle property with
more work dogs than is decent, and have trouble finding time
to write as well as talk at schools and conferences. But that’s
the way I like it. No trouble at all.
Website: www.spudplus.com
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Margo Lanagan
- Treasure Hunters of Quentaris
Margo Lanagan has written many
books for children, young adults and science fiction and fantasy
fans. She has won an Aurealis Award, been short listed for the
NSW Premier’s Literary Award twice, and several of her
books have been Children’s Book Council Notable Books.
Margo lives in Sydney with her partner and two sons. She works
in the Information Technology industry. In her spare time, she
likes to swim, go to the beach, and read, read, read. |
Sean McMullen
- Ancient Hero
Sean McMullen is one Australia’s
leading SF and fantasy authors, and lives in Melbourne with
his wife and daughter. He is the winner of a dozen awards for
SF and fantasy, and has had ten books and fifty stories published.
He writes both adult and young adult fiction, and has been published
in Australia, the USA, Britain, France, Poland, and Japan. Outside
his writing, Sean works in scientific computing, has played
in rock and folk bands, has done armoured and traditional fencing,
and has been a karate instructor in a university club for twenty
years.
Website: seanmcmullen.net.au
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Isobelle Carmody -
Angel Fever
Isobelle Carmody is an award
winning fantasy writer of twenty novels and several picture
books, who lives between her home on the Great Ocean Road in
Australia and her home in Prague in central Europe. She writes
full time and is currently working on the final book in The
Obernewtyn Chronicles. |
Jenny Pausacker -
The Perfect Princess
Jenny Pausacker has published
over sixty books, ranging from picture books to young adult
novels and including science fiction, junior crime, romance,
horror and the award-winning novels What
Are Ya?
and Mr Enigmatic. She lives in a hobbit
hole, writes at night and wanders round the city during the
day, people-watching.
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Lucy Sussex -
The Revognase
Lucy Sussex
was born in New Zealand in 1957, and lives in Australia. She
is a researcher, reviewer, author and editor. Her award-winning
work (Aurealis and Ditmar awards, short listed for World Fantasy)
has been published internationally, and in a variety of genres,
including children's fiction, literary criticism, horror and
detective stories.
She has had short fiction reprinted in The
Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women (1995), ‘Australian
Women’s Stories’ Oxford, 1999) and ‘Year’s
Best Science Fiction’ (ed. David Hartwell (2000). She
was the first Australian to teach at Clarion, and also to
be a judge for the Tiptree award.
Website: www.sussex.id.au/home/
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